With your help through Ochstoberfest, we hope that we are able to help cancer patients not just survive but truly THRIVE. A number of cancer centers offer integrative therapies that are holistic and based on scientific evidence such as Music therapy, Acupuncture, Yoga, Nutrition, Meditation/Mindfulness, and others.
Why are these therapies important?
When you are being treated for cancer, you have frequent visits and you feel like you have a team taking care of you. After active treatment is done, patients often do not feel that they have a team anymore. Moreover, cancer treatment has long lasting terrible side effects- neuropathy, brain fog, sexual dysfunction, lymphedema, body image issues, loss of fertility, chronic pain, depression, premature menopause, loss of taste, and damage to other organs. The FEAR of recurrence or another cancer is REAL and is awful for many patients.
Integrative Oncology is a different approach. Patients are seen from a holistic viewpoint in conjunction with conventional treatments, to help mitigate symptoms and make the cancer journey, the battle, better, treating not just the body, but the mind and spirit as well. The goal of Integrative Therapies is to relieve distress, help patients more easily adhere to their treatment programs and boost long term results. It’s about caring for and seeing the patient as a whole, not just a disease.